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Separating Myth From Fact About Poverty In America

Frantisek_Krejci
/
Pixabay

In a country where each segment of the population is at least held in suspicion by some members of others, there's a lot of ganging up on one group: poor people. Terms like "welfare queen" and "poor white trash" have been ladled around through the years, and often detached from realities.

Academics Mark Robert Rank, Lawrence M. Eppard, and Heather E. Bullock work to put the realities of poverty onto firmer footing in the book Poorly Understood: What America Gets Wrong About Poverty.

The authors bring their own expertise in various fields to the subject matter, point out how hard it is to climb out of poverty in today's America, and bring in further remarks from experts in a number of fields.

Mark Rank is our guest, providing an overview of the book's vast subject matter.

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The Jefferson Exchange is Jefferson Public Radio's daily news program focused on issues, people and events across Southern Oregon and Northern California. Angela Decker is the program's senior producer, Charlie Zimmermann is the assistant producer, and Geoffrey Riley hosts the show.